Culina poised for Socceroo call-up

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Jason Culina is tipped to get his big chance - off to
South Africa to don the Socceroo colours, writes Michael
Lynch.

Everything comes to he who waits, so the old saying goes.

It's not, of course, always true. But for Dutch-based attacking
midfielder Jason Culina, patience is set to be its own reward today
when the 24-year-old is called up into the full Socceroo squad for
the game against South Africa in a fortnight.

Culina, son of former National Soccer League coach of the year
Branko Culina, has endured a frustrating time as several of his
Olympic team contemporaries have made the progression to full
Socceroo level.

Now the FC Twente Enschede player is poised to join them when
Socceroo coach Frank Farina names his party for the game against
the South Africans in Durban on February 9.

While several first-team regulars are expected to be absentees
through injury, Farina is likely to name as strong a line-up as
possible against a team that had its moments when the two nations
met in London in March last year.

Harry Kewell, who has missed his club Liverpool's past 10 games,
has rather optimistically said he would play if fit enough, but
Farina has made a point of not selecting players who have not been
playing for their clubs either because they are injured or left out
by their managers.

Mark Viduka is a certain absentee, with his hamstring injury
keeping him on the sidelines throughout January. The Middlesbrough
front man is not expected to play until next month. Stan Lazaridis
is another regular who has been badly hit by injury, turning out
only 11 times for Birmingham City in the English Premier
League.

Injury also has ruled out Scotland-based defender and midfielder
Paddy Kisnorbo from a likely recall to the senior squad. The
23-year-old Kisnorbo, who plays for Heart of Midlothian, was
expected to be drafted into the party for the South African game,
having been left out for the most recent internationals following
his decision not to play for the Olyroos in the Athens Olympic
tournament.

But knee surgery to clear up a cartilage problem means he is
sidelined for up to a month.

Kisnorbo will leave Hearts at the end of the season and join
English Championship side Leicester City, now managed by the man
who gave him his chance in Scotland, Craig Levein.

Farina also has held clear-the-air talks with former Socceroo
Ned Zelic, the classy defender-midfielder whose absence cast such a
large shadow over the coach's first couple of years in the job.